Poor college student... with that in mind..
how much would it cost for me to build a mild 350 to put in my Trans AM? Pick one up from the junkyard, bolt on some Vortec Heads, maybe, and drop it in (+manifoold, 600 cfm carb, etc).
I could probably cough up $1500 max, but I'd like to spend less. Possible or no? And would I just be able to drop it in without rebuilding if I found a good condition 350, or should I rebuild it? And could I even rebuild it myself, since I've never done it before?
Jon

 

Sure sounds possible to me. At least, that's assuming I know where you got that "Junkyard Jewel" topic from (HOT ROD). Another option would be to pick up a rebuilt longblock. 350s are cheap. Should be able to find one for $600 or so and go from there (intake, headers, cam, head swap, carb, distributor). Good luck.

 

For $1500 you can get a decent 350. get a stock rebuilt longblock for about $600~$700. Mine came from Pep Boys and I haven't had any problems with it. Throw in a cam such as the Comp XE 262 with a performer intake and you will be pushing about 250 hp very cheaply and that engine will last you a long time if you take care of it.

------------------
91 RS/3.1 - Stock except stereo system, daily driver.

86 IROC - Pep Boys 350 longblock, Performer 750 carb, Performer RPM intake, Comp Cams 280 magnum, Hooker 1 5/8" shorties, Flowmaster Y pipe, 3" pipe to Flowmaster 2 chamber Dual outlet, TH 350 performance rebuild w/shift kit, Daco 2600 Stall, 3.42 Gear Moser 12 bolt w/Eaton posi.

 

My freind bought a plain jane goodwrench 350 with a 3 year\36000 mile warranty for about $1300.00. The dealership he bought it from said it's about 250-260 horse so it's not a bad deal. If you check out the classifieds here I sure you could come up with a good used intake and a set of headers.

 

Dont mean to sound like a novice but i am so in that case..What is a long block????I am also going to buy a used 350 tpi from a junk yard for 700.....Not bad as my first car.....

------------------
1988 Trans am.......best 600 bucks ive ever spent...305 5.0 but will save my lunch money and every penny to swap for a 350 tpi in the coming two years

 

A longblock is the engine block with all of the internal parts, heads, and timing chain. In order to make it run, you have to add an intake manifold, carb (or fuel inj.), distributor, oil pan and valve covers, timing cover, and that's about it. Basically engines come as short blocks (longblock minus the heads i believe), long block, and complete. There are some good deals on brand new 350s from GM now, which is what I would have done if I had looked into it a little more before I did my engine swap. I do think that a rebuilt longblock would be the way to go though for cost. There are plenty of low buck buildups out there, just pick up any hi po magazine.

 

I found a place since I'm in the market for new long block. Its http://216.157.36.177/cgi-bin/webc.c...49102413539.92 for the page, and http://216.157.36.177/cgi-bin/webc.c...15102551313.47 for the specific block page. They offer a 7 year/70,000 miles warranty for their remaned long blocks.

I've looked around and they seem reputable, does anyone else have any input about them? The warranty seems pretty good, and it sounds like its a good deal if you want a stock motor with a warrenty.

 

Hah.. I like the use of my supercharged baby in your sig.. nice..

Jon

 

Heh! I didn't even know it was yours! I just did a google image search for "Pontiac TransAm" and yours came up. Now that I've looked I see that it is yours! I'll eventually replace it with a pic of mine but I want to get the engine fixed and clean it up a bit.

PS. if you want me to remove it I will. No questions asked.

I did make a desktop of my car. I'll post a link to it.
http://members.telocity.com/wjrneo2/images/desk-gta.jpg

 

i absolutely don't mind! It's quite flattering, actually.

Anyway, keep it on there as long as you want

Jon